Biden travels to two swing states for Labor Day in midterms push

President Joe Biden kicked off a Labor Day tour of two battleground states with a rousing speech in Milwaukee, where he touted his recent wins in Washington and took specific aim at Sen. Ron Johnson.

“This guy never stops,” Biden said of Johnson, referencing recent positions Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, has taken. “But guess what? I ain’t stopping either,” Biden said to a raucous round of applause.

Biden touted the Inflation Reduction Act, the sweeping climate, health care and tax bill that he signed into law last month, which included a cap on insulin prices for Medicare patients. Johnson voted against the measure.

“We beat pharma this year,” Biden said, his voice rising. And it mattered, we’re going to change people’s lives.”

Biden leaned into his accomplishments on health care and aid to seniors at the same time that Democrats here have homed in on the issue in the U.S. Senate race against Johnson – one of the most significant in the country as the balance of the Senate is at stake in November.

Johnson had said that funding for Medicare and Social Security should be reviewed every year, rather than automatically included in the budget. His comments spawned a spree of attacks against Johnson, who critics accused of trying to end the programs (Johnson has denied this.)

Biden’s attacks on Johnson came even though the Demcratic nominee for Senate, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, did not appear at the event. Gov. Tony Evers, however, did speak at the same event as Biden. Evers is competing against Republican Tim Michels in a race that is in a dead heat.

Biden is scheduled to travel to Pittsburgh later Monday, where he’s expected to make similar remarks. Like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania’s Senate race could determine the future of a U.S. Senate that now stands at 50-50.

In Pittsburgh, Biden is scheduled to speak at the United Steelworkers of America Local Union 2227. This is Biden’s third visit to Pennsylvania in recent days.

The Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman who has led in a contest against his Republican opponent, Mehmet Oz, had said he was hoping to discuss marijuana legalization with the president during his Labor Day visit. He did not join Biden at either of his appearances last week in Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia, though.

The lukewarm welcome from Barnes and Fetterman signifies the feeling of Democratic candidates more broadly who have sought to distance themselves from the president. Democratic candidates for federal office are outperforming the president in their state polls, even as Biden’s approval numbers are on the rise.

During an interview with NBC News on Monday, Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, declined to say whether Biden’s appearance benefits or harms his campaign.

“I don’t take my cues from Washington, D.C., I take my cues from Washington County, Pennsylvania,” he said. “That’s the folks I listen to. I’m trying to lead Pennsylvania forward.”